Stargazing – getting yarn ready

I love it when I really enjoy a project so much that I almost don’t want to finish it. Last year I made two blankets that I totally adored. The Soft Summer Blanket and my Hexagon Blanket. They were slow makes that were a joy. This year I saw a patchwork quilt colour scheme and thought; ‘Wouldn’t that be beautiful in crochet?’.

I love patchwork so much, it has such a nostalgic place in my heart. But I cannot stretch time enough to properly work on sewing quilts. When I see an attractive patchwork pattern I wonder if it would work as a crochet blanket. For me it is a much faster make.

I’m a big fan of Stylecraft’s Bellissima and Bambino yarn. I love the softness of the yarn and the tones worked well for the design. For the large blanket you only use 1 ball of each of the colours for the star motif. It is the background cream which you need to adjust for different sizes.

By my calculations you could make a very sweet baby blanket with just one star in the centre – approximately 60cm x 60cm (24in x 24 in) square. A very useful lap blanket could be made using four motifs – 115cm x 115cm (45in x 45in). I have made a larger blanket with nicely covers two thirds of a kingsize bed which is approximately 165cm x 165cm (65in x 65in).

I have drafted the pattern and will be asking my gorgeous tech-editing friend to help me spot all the mistakes, typos and where my ramblings don’t make sense. I plan then to release the pattern for a introductory small amount to cover the costs and those of you who want to can start your making. Many veteran crocheters will probably be able to make the pattern up themselves.

So if you are planning to make a Stargazer blanket – here are the yarn quantities:

For the Large Blanket – Stylecraft Bellissima DK – 7 x  100g ball: Single Cream 3921 (A)

1 x 100g of the following: Rio Red 3932 (B), Papaya Punch 3977 (C), Mellow Yellow 3925 (D), Sugar Snap 3926 (E), Denim Dungarees 7219 (F) Orchid Haze 7217 (G)

Stylecraft Bambino DK – 1 x 100g of the following Soft Pink 7113 (H) Little Boy Blue 7118 (I)

For a Baby Blanket you will only need 1 x 100g of yarn A and all the contrasting colours.

For a Lap Blanket you will need 4 x 100g of yarn A and 1 x 100g balls of each of the contrasting colours.

Honestly I think this blanket is going to be a huge favourite in our house and I know Stanley has already adopted it. The colours are bright and cheerful and it will bring cosy comfort in the Autumn and Winter. If you are thinking of making it I would love to hear. My plan would be to do a few short videos on how the work a half square and attach the second colour. I also want to show you how to sew squares together using mattress stitch.

Please do subscribe to my newsletter as I will post news of the pattern to my followers first. I do hope you have a lovely weekend. Here’s to planning new crochet adventures.